"I cannot describe the gratitude, the inspiration, the humility, the joy, the pride I get from our rescue," Duncan's owner, Amanda Giese of Panda Paws Rescue, toldKING-TV.

"Duncan is my hero," she said. "For those who said I was an animal abuser for removing his severely deformed legs to give him a chance, for those who sent me hate mail and doubted this boy, suggesting we should just euthanize him — you are wrong. Thank goodness this baby boy landed in our loving home!"

Duncan now undergoes regular physical therapy, massage therapy and hydrotherapy to help straighten his spine, which was twisted by the pressure his deformed legs put on it.

"In just four weeks we have turned his pelvis that was at a 90 degree contortion to a 45 degree contortion," Giese wrote of Duncan's hydrotherapy progress on YouTube. "That is a major hurdle & I can only see it getting better every week!"

She added that the puppy is not in pain, has 100 per cent bowel and bladder control, and is learning to use a wheelchair to "help keep his spine as straight as possible."

"Duncan will continue to face every obstacle to come with grace and perseverance. He will change lives and he will be the light at the darkest hour for many because he is the definition of life," Giese told KING-TV.